The agenda for December’s DesignMENA Summit was debated at a roundtable discussion held at the Dubai offices of architects Godwin Austen Johnson.

The UAE’s place in the world of design was one of the hottest debated topics as the panel looked to highlight hot issues at the event, set for December 8.

Isabel Pintado managing director of LWD Interiors said: “I think one of the panel discussions should be to highlight how many of us work and take projects in other parts of the world…it is about making the design community better and more respected.”

She said that clients are looking for a combination of global and local firms to work on projects.

“I do think people want the comfort of having someone based here but they also like the idea of someone who also comes from a bigger, international firm. I think there is a lot of work for local firms to be recognised better.”

Kevin McLachlan, partner at GAJ, said he feels the industry benefits by hearing from people outside its immediate areas of expertise.

He said: “I found talks to be far more interesting when you hear about someone passion of something, I saw one the other day, and I feel we should take our influences not from interior design or architecture, but from other areas and I find it interesting when you bring in people from other walks of like and see how they work.

Andre Meyerhans, who runs his own architect firm, added: “I think it could be interesting to find out what is actually happening here, how would culture look. Is this a culture that captures the zeitgeist? Is a culture here that is made by everyone living in a place?”